Fork: knight to c3 (d5·2)
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The tactical motive
Fork: one piece attacks two targets at once — they can't both be saved.
Difficulty 2264 ShuffleRating — expert level — few solve it at first try.
Black to move — find the best continuation
How to recognize this tactic
A fork is one piece attacking two targets at once. Look for a knight, pawn or queen move that lands where it hits the king (or a bigger piece) and a second undefended unit on the same turn — the opponent can save only one.
General method: before you move, list the forcing candidates — every check, every capture, every direct threat — and calculate those first. The solution to a tactic is almost always among them.
Position on the board
White: king g1, queen e2, rook a1 d1, bishop c1, knight e5, pawn a2 g2 h2 c3 f4.
Black: king g8, queen d8, rook a8 e8, knight d5 b8, pawn a7 b7 f7 g7 h7.
11 white and 11 black pieces are on the board; the puzzle position arises after move 15.
The position in numbers
Material is level — 30 points of pieces on each side (pawn = 1, knight and bishop = 3, rook = 5, queen = 9).
The white king stands on g1, the black king on g8.
It is Black to move on move 15, with 37 legal replies to weigh — only the line that keeps the advantage solves the puzzle.
White keeps 5 pawns, Black 5. Files fully open (no pawns of either colour): d, e — natural highways for the rooks and queen. Half-open for Black: c.
The Black king has 2 empty squares to step to right now — the fewer they are, the closer a mating net.
Solution & explanation
Main line
15... Nxc3 16. Rxd8 Nxe2+ 17. Kf2 Rxd8
Why it works
- Great move! knight to c3 keeps the pressure (+4.9).
- Well found: knight to e2 (+4.9).
- Strong! rook to d8 is the sharp choice (+5.0).
- You win a piece — the queen.
- If instead Rxd8, then Nxe2+ and you stay on top.
Move by move
- 15… Nxc3 — knight to c3 (capture)
- 16. Rxd8 — rook to d8 (capture)
- Nxe2+ — knight to e2 (capture) with check
- 17. Kf2 — king to f2
- Rxd8 — rook to d8 (capture)
Types in this puzzle
Knight fork
One knight move attacks two targets at once — the opponent can only save one.
A fork is one move that attacks two targets at once, and no piece forks better than the knight. Look through the knight's eyes: it jumps in an L and never moves along straight lines, which is exactly why its threats get missed. Both victims of a knight fork always stand on squares of one color, while the knight strikes from the opposite color. Hunt for the square from which the knight hits the king and a heavy piece at once.
Discovered attack
A piece steps aside and opens a second attack from the piece behind it.
A discovered attack works like a curtain: one piece steps off the line and unveils the long-range piece behind it. The beauty is that the moving piece can create a second threat of its own — two attacks in one move. Look for your stacked pairs: a bishop or rook behind a knight or pawn, aimed through them at something valuable. Send the front piece to the most aggressive square — a discovery without a second threat wastes half its power.
Zwischenzug
Before the obvious recapture — an in-between move that wins more.
A zwischenzug means refusing the obvious reply — usually a recapture — and playing a stronger move with tempo first. Typically it is a check or a deadly threat the opponent must answer, after which you calmly take what was hanging anyway. The sign: inside a sequence of exchanges you own a check or a threat that will not run away. Whenever a line looks forced, ask what poison you can slip in between the moves.
Provenance
Derived from the Lichess puzzle database (CC0).
Pack 015
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